President Trump must do more than declare opioid emergency (Your letters)

Posted September 12, 2017 at 9:07 AM

This is an example of the medication methadone being dispensed for patients by a registered nurse with Crouse Hospital's Opioid Treatment Program, Thursday February 4, 2016. President Trump's desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act undermine efforts to combat the opioid drug crisis, says the letter-writer.

This is an example of the medication methadone being dispensed for patients by a registered nurse with Crouse Hospital's Opioid Treatment Program, Thursday February 4, 2016. President Trump's desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act undermine efforts to combat the opioid drug crisis, says the letter-writer.(Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com)

Finally, after push and shove, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national emergency. I, and many other advocates in the Syracuse community, have high hopes for change in efforts to dissolve the opioid epidemic. With Trump's repeated desire to slash the Affordable Care Act, I am curious what this will have in store for those newly recovering, in long-term recovery, and even those ambivalent about curbing their addiction. There are waiting lists for inpatient detox programs, long intake processes and waiting periods for outpatient programming, including medication-assisted treatment such as Suboxone and Methadone. Prior to entry, many these programs have prerequisites, such as bloodwork, psychological assessments, etc. Most of the programs however, require individuals to be enrolled government benefits such as Medicaid and/or Temporary Assistance -- unless, of course, you can afford the treatment out of pocket, or have phenomenal private insurance willing to cover long-term on-going treatment.

Once you are completed with your treatment, you are then welcomed back into the environment whence you came. For the homeless, this means the homeless shelters, and for those living in poverty, right back to those communities. Half-way housing is an option for those exiting inpatient rehabs, but if the houses are full, and insurance is not willing to pay for extra time inpatient, where is the individual to go?

All in all, my wish to President Trump is to not only take into consideration that, yes this is an epidemic, but also how other policies he is not on board with strongly affect the outcomes of treatment and ability for those suffering to reach sobriety.